Six the Musical
"Six" is a British pop musical written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss while they were studying for their final exams at Cambridge University. It tells the stories of the six wives of Henry VIII, as they compete to decide who will lead the group. Plot :This section uses content from Wikipedia. The show opens with the Queens performing an opening number in pop-concert, girl-group fashion that introduces themselves and welcomes the audience to the performance ("Ex-Wives"). They address the crowd through means of breaking the fourth wall and tell them that this show will feature a competition, and whoever had the "biggest load of B.S." to deal with from the man who married them, Henry VIII, will be the one to lead the group ("Ex-Wives (Reprise)"). Catherine of Aragon starts off and recounts her marriage to Henry and later annulment, and almost being put into a nunnery when he began lusting after Anne Boleyn ("No Way"). When Aragon claims that she is the winner, the other Queens mention Anne and how she overlapped with Aragon during the former's marriage, resulting in said annulment ("Anne Boleyn (Interlude)"), and Anne recounts her time as Queen with Henry and her eventual execution ("Don't Lose Ur Head"). Jane Seymour then announces it's her turn to recount what she put up with, but the other Queens mock her for not having as much to deal with as, in her words, she was "the only one he truly loved". Jane admits that while she may have been lucky for not having to suffer at his hand, she still stood by him throughout all his faults ("Heart of Stone"). The story then shifts as the Queens are suddenly turned into members of Hans Holbein's painting studio, talking about how they make the women he paints look beautiful for their portraits ("Haus of Holbein"). In a set-up parodying Tinder (or another similar dating site) they present three women: Christina of Denmark, Amalia of Cleves, and Anna of Cleves, Amalia's elder sister. When Henry "swipes right", so to speak, on Anna, they all assume he will marry Anna and that they will have a happy, long-lasting marriage ("Haus of Holbein (Playoff)"). Of course, their union is ultimately ill-fated as he rejects Anna, and she pretends to make a big deal about how she is then forced to live in a beautiful palace in Richmond as a result, though she's not really complaining ("Get Down"). After the Queens point out how Anna's life doesn't sound that difficult, Anna says "Oh, well, back to the palace". As Katherine Howard is next to go, the Queens belittle her for being "the least relevant Catherine", but Katherine retaliates by mentioning flaws in the other Queens' reasons for winning. She then recounts her life and the men who hurt her, leading into her marriage to Henry and eventual beheading ("All You Wanna Do"). When the Queens get into a massive fight about who should win the title of lead singer by comparing their Henry-related traumas, Catherine Parr puts a stop to it, questioning if being remembered solely for being Henry's wives – rather than by what they actually did as Queens – is the true way to win, telling her story in the process ("I Don't Need Your Love"). They slowly but surely agree with her and sing proudly that they don't need the love of Henry to feel validated as people ("I Don't Need Your Love (Remix)"). With only five minutes left in the show after the fact, they decide to use their remaining moments on stage to "rewrite" the stories they told, and sing for themselves for a change, singing together as a group rather than as solo artists, and writing their own happily ever after ("Six"). In all of the live performances of the show as of July 2019, the Queens perform an encore number that isn't featured on the Original Cast Recording, which is a mashup of all the songs performed in the show (minus "Haus of Holbein") called "Megasix". Coincidentally, this is the only song allowed to be recorded during a live performance, and the Queens encourage the audience to film the song, which brings the concert feel of the show full circle, as it is normally seen as disrespectful to film theatrical performances. Characters * Catherine of Aragon * Anne Boleyn * Jane Seymour * Anna of Cleves * Katherine Howard * Catherine Parr Band * Maggie — Guitar * Bessie — Bass * Joan — Keyboard * Maria — Drums Songs # Ex-Wives - The Queens # Ex-Wives (Reprise) - The Queens † # No Way - Catherine of Aragon # Anne Boleyn (Interlude) † # Don't Lose Ur Head - Anne Boleyn # Heart of Stone - Jane Seymour # Haus of Holbein - Company # Haus of Holbein (Playoff) - Company # Get Down - Anna of Cleves # All You Wanna Do - Katherine Howard # I Don't Need Your Love - Catherine Parr # I Don't Need Your Love (Remix) - Catherine Parr & the Queens †† # Six - The Queens # Megasix - The Queens † † Not included on the Studio Cast Recording. †† Included as part of I Don't Need Your Love on the Studio Cast Recording. Casts Original Edinburgh Cast * Catherine of Aragon - Megan Gilbert * Anne Boleyn - Ashleigh Weir * Jane Seymour - Holly Musgrave * Anna of Cleves - Tilda Wickham * Katherine Howard - Annabel Marlow * Catherine Parr - Shimali de Silva Original Arts Theatre Cast * Catherine of Aragon - Renée Lamb * Anne Boleyn - Christina Modestou * Jane Seymour - Natalie Paris * Anna of Cleves - Genesis Lynea * Katherine Howard - Aimie Atkinson * Catherine Parr - Izuka Hoyle West End Production * Catherine of Aragon - Jarneia Richard-Noel * Anne Boleyn - Millie O'Connell * Jane Seymour - Natalie Paris * Anna of Cleves - Alexia McIntosh * Katherine Howard - Aimie Atkinson * Catherine Parr - Maiya Quansah-Breed * Swing/Dance Captain - Grace Mouat * Swing - Vicki Manser (Joined January 2019) * Swing - Courtney Stapleton (Joined January 2019) * Maggie - Amy Shaw * Bessie - Terri De Marco * Joan/Music Director - Katy Richardson * Maria - Alice Angliss Notable Replacements/Additions * Anne Boleyn - Courtney Bowman (beginning on 15 October 2019) * Katherine Howard - Vicki Manser (principal actress from 15 October 2019 to 15 December 2019), Sophie Isaacs (21 January 2020 to July 2020) * Catherine Parr - Danielle Steers (beginning on 15 October 2019) * Understudy/Dance Captain - Collette Guitart * Swing - Shekinah McFarlane (later featured in UK Tour) * Swing - Zara MacIntosh * Swing - Cherelle Jay * Swing - Hana Stewart * Swing - Jennifer Caldwell (beginning on 3 January 2020 due to medical issues of principal cast members, until 2nd February) North American Tour/Broadway * Catherine of Aragon - Adrianna Hicks * Anne Boleyn - Andrea Macasaet * Jane Seymour - Abby Mueller * Anna of Cleves - Brittney Mack * Katherine Howard - Samantha Pauly * Catherine Parr - Anna Uzele * Swing/Dance Captain - Mallory Maedke * Swing - Nicole Kyoung-Mi Lambert * Swing - Courtney Mack (St. Paul, Broadway) * Maggie - Kimi Hayes (U.S.) / Mo Lefever (Edmonton) * Bessie - Stacy McMichael (Chicago) / Kate Foss (Cambridge) / Aretha Tillotson (Edmonton) / Michelle Osbourne (St. Paul, Broadway) * Joan/Music Director - Julia Schade (U.S., Broadway) / Jen McMillan (Edmonton) * Maria - Sarah Allen (Chicago) / Elena Bonomo (Cambridge, St. Paul, and Broadway) / Allyson MacIvor (Edmonton) Notable Replacements/Additions * Katherine Howard/Swing - Courtney Mack (Chicago/Boston Howard, Edmonton cover Howard, St. Paul/Broadway Swing) * Jane Seymour - Mallory Maedke (principal actress in St. Paul only) * Swing - Shantel Cribbs (covered for Anna of Cleves in St. Paul only) Bliss Cruise Production * Catherine of Aragon - Candace Furbert * Anne Boleyn - Hazel Karooma-Brooker * Jane Seymour - Caitlin Tipping * Anna of Cleves - Sophie Golden * Katherine Howard - Alicia Corrales-Connor * Catherine Parr - Viquichele Cross * Swing/Show and Dance Captain - Natalie Pilkington * Swing - Bryony Duncan * Rehearsal Swing - Lori McLare * Rehearsal Swing - Amy Bridges (later featured in Breakaway Cruise Production) * Maggie - Rebeca Caldera * Bessie - Kellie Nitz * Joan/Music Director - Alexandra Crosby * Maria - Chanel Miller Notable Replacements/Additions * Catherine of Aragon - Jade Marvin (beginning in March 2020) * Anne Boleyn - Lucy Aiston (beginning in March 2020) * Jane Seymour - Gabriella Stylianou-Burns (beginning in March 2020) * Anna of Cleves - Scarlet Gabriel (beginning in March 2020) * Katherine Howard - Bryony Duncan (principal actress from January 2020 to February 2020), Lori McLare (from February 2020 to March 2020), Rebecca Wickes (beginning in March 2020) * Catherine Parr - Megan Leung (beginning in March 2020) * Swing - Sophie-Rose Middleton (beginning in March 2020) * Swing - TBA (beginning in March 2020) * Rehearsal Swing - Kara-Ami McCreanor * Rehearsal Swing - TBA UK Tour 2019-20 * Catherine of Aragon - Lauren Drew * Anne Boleyn - Maddison Bulleyment * Jane Seymour - Lauren Byrne * Anna of Cleves - Shekinah McFarlane * Katherine Howard - Jodie Steele * Catherine Parr - Athena Collins * Swing/Dance Captain - Harriet Watson * Swing - Cassandra Lee * Swing - Jennifer Caldwell * Maggie - Frankie South * Bessie - Kat Bax * Joan/Music Director - Arlene McNaught * Maria - Vanessa Domonique Notable Replacements/Additions * Understudy Katherine Howard - Alicia Corrales-Connor (January 2020) Breakaway Cruise Production * Catherine of Aragon - Jasmine Shen * Anne Boleyn - Kelly Sweeney * Jane Seymour/Show Captain - Amy Bridges * Anna of Cleves - Jessica Niles * Katherine Howard - Georgia Carr * Catherine Parr - Amelia Walker * Swing/Dance Captain - Liv Alexander * Swing - Elizabeth Walker * Rehearsal Swing - Maddison Firth * Rehearsal Swing - Laura Blair * Maggie - Julia Agra * Bessie - Julia Subatin * Joan/Music Director - Dani Hutch * Maria - Kari Child Australia/New Zealand Tour * Catherine of Aragon - Chloé Zuel * Anne Boleyn - Kala Gare * Jane Seymour - Loren Hunter * Anna of Cleves - Kiana Daniele * Katherine Howard - Courtney Monsma * Catherine Parr - Vidya Makan * Swing/Dance Captain - Ella Burns * Swing - Karis Oka * Swing - Shannen Quan * Maggie - Debbie Yap * Bessie - Jessica Dunn * Joan/Music Director - Claire Healy * Maria - Ali Foster Trivia * The Getaway cruise, second Breakaway cruise, and second Chicago casts have not been announced yet. ** Although most members of the second Bliss cruise cast have been announced, one cast member is still unknown. * Productions are being planned for China, Japan, South Korea, and Canada. * There is one joke song in the musical, Wearing Yellow to a Funeral; however, it is not an actual song, as Anne is cut off by the other queens after only singing a partial line. Category:Musicals Category:Six